Before the Google Nexus 10 came
along, the Disgo 9104 was the first budget large-screen Android tablet actually
worth a look
Many will write off the Disgo as a no-name
brand, but the 9104 is worth a second look. It's the first budget Ice Cream
Sandwich tablet to emulate the iPad's 9.7in screen, but this 1024x768
capacitive IPS screen has a 4:3 ratio.
The screen itself is an impressive panel in
such a cheap tablet: relatively bright, with good contrast and wide viewing
angles. It isn't on a par with the iPad 2's screen, and the resolution is
yesterday's, but don't forget that low price.
Disgo
9104
Build quality is significantly better than
that of Disgo's 8104 (a tablet the company is likely to want to forget), and
rivals Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. However, the Galaxy has a plastic back,
whereas the Disgo has an aluminium panel.
The 9104 is reasonably light at 630g and
feels thin, despite measuring 10.4mm. All the buttons and ports are consigned
to the right edge: power and volume controls sit above the power socket,
mini-USB and mini-HDMI connectors.
There's also a 3.5mm headphone output and a
microSD slot for boosting the 16GB of internal storage. A rear-facing 2Mp
camera is twinned with a front-facing VGA version for video chat.
Build
quality is significantly better than that of Disgo's 8104
It seems the corners have instead been cut
on the inside. The Disgo’s 1.2GHz single-core processor is paired with 1GB of
RAM but, even with Android 4.0 installed, the 9104 isn't as slick as we'd like.
Disgo has personalized Ice Cream Sandwich
so it feels more welcoming to new users; as this is likely to be a first
tablet, that's a good thing. Shortcuts to the browser, email, camera and
settings apps are on the desktop. There's no access to the Google Play store,
though, and no Google apps are installed by default.
Browsing the web is one of the 9104's
strengths. There's enough resolution to view the desktop versions of websites,
and Flash is supported.
Wireless
802.lln is supported, but there’s no GPS receiver or Bluetooth. This is worth
noting if case you planned to use the 9104 as a satnav
Battery life isn't fantastic, with the
7,000mAh slab lasting just under five hours in our video-looping test. It's better
than most budget laptops, though, and fine as long as you carry the power
supply with you.
Wireless 802.lln is supported, but there’s
no GPS receiver or Bluetooth. This is worth noting if case you planned to use
the 9104 as a satnav.
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Specifications
·
Price: $286.4
·
Company: Disgo
·
Website: Mydisgo.Com
·
9.7in (1024x768) capacitive multitouch IPS
screen
·
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
·
1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor
·
1GB RAM
·
16GB storage
·
802.11bgn
·
2Mp, 0.3Mp cameras
·
mini-USB
·
mini-HDMI
·
243x190x10.4mm
·
630g
Pros
·
Very good IPS screen; cheap price; strong
build quality; supports Flash
Cons
·
Poor performance; short battery life; no
access to Google Play app store
Verdict
·
Well-built with a good screen, the Disgo is a
good budget option, but leagues behind the Google Nexus 10
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